源自拳击比赛。当拳击手的助手发现选手已无法支撑时，会向拳击台内扔进一条毛巾，作为投降的信号。

• After hours of trying to fix the computer, he finally threw in the towel. ^{折腾了好几个小时也没修好电脑，他最终放弃了。}
• The team refused to throw in the towel despite being ten points behind. ^{尽管落后十分，球队仍拒绝认输。}
• Don’t throw in the towel just because it’s getting difficult. ^{不要仅仅因为事情变得困难就选择放弃。}